Education

DNA

DNA is the abbreviation for deoxyribonucleic acid. It contains the hereditary information of the organism and is often referred to as genetic material.

DNA is the abbreviation for deoxyribonucleic acid. It contains the hereditary information of the organism and is often referred to as genetic material.

A spiral staircase of genes

The DNA of eukaryote cells is contained in a cell nucleus. A DNA molecule comprises two long strings which encircle each other like a spiral staircase (the helix). An enormous amount of DNA is contained in a single cell. If you were to pile all the DNA spiral staircases from a single cell on top of each other, you would get a two-metre-high spiral staircase! The building bricks of DNA are nucleotides, organised in genes. The genes encode a certain protein. The complete set of genes is called the genome.

25.000 genes per person

Our DNA is packaged in 23 pairs of chromosomes and is stored in the nuclei of our cells. There are about 25,000 genes in the human genome (the complete set of genes of an organism). You get your DNA from both your father and your mother. You can have the same colour hair or eyes as one of your parents because part of your DNA is the same as theirs.